Weiler Abrasives Group appointed Chad McDonald (left) vice president of sales, U.S. and Canada. McDonald will oversee all sales activities, including field sales, national accounts and manufacturer’s rep groups. He comes to Weiler with more than 18 years of sales and marketing experience. Weiler Abrasives Group also appointed Bill Dwyre managing director of the newly formed Americas business. Dwyre joined Weiler in 2013 as vice president of strategic marketing after a 25-year career at Ingersoll Rand. In his new position, he will be responsible for executing the regional growth strategy.

Walter Surface Technologies Inc. launched FlexSteel, a general purpose flap disc for use on steel in light industrial, metal fabrication and construction applications. The flap disc features a zirconia alumina abrasive grain blend that self-sharpens with less pressure, allowing it to maintain a high removal rate on any power tool. The disc is suitable for blending sharp corners, heavy deburring and blending in fillet welds. In addition, it can withstand lateral pressure to remove material from corners and edges.

Suhner Industrial Products’ Power Air Respiratory System e3000 is designed for operator protection during high-grit grinding and polishing operations. The system, in combination with the e3000 lightweight helmet from Suhner, offers respiratory protection and safety from the effects of smoke, dust and vapor. The system has a variable air flow rate from 150 to 250 Nl/min. to provide maximum comfort and help prevent operator fatigue. The system also features a highefficiency battery pack with operating times of up to 20 hours.

WiseGuyReports.com has a new market research report, “Grinding Machinery 2017 Global Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 3.78% and Forecast to 2021.” To calculate the market size, the report covers the present and growth prospects of the global grinding machinery market for 2017-2021. For the report’s purposes, a grinding machine is defined as using an abrasive wheel as the cutting tool to cut and shape metals and other materials based on the specifications of the product. It is used to obtain high-accuracy and high-class surface finish. The rough surface of the abrasive wheel helps in scraping off the unnecessary material from the workpiece.

Pferd Inc.’s CombiClick is a quick-change disc system that provides lower workpiece temperature and good stock removal and disc life. For use with coated abrasive, non-woven and felt discs, the system has a backing pad with an innovative locking mechanism. The threaded backing pad allows discs to be used on most angle grinders. The cooling slot geometry ensures a high throughput of air, reducing the thermal load on the abrasive material and workpiece.

Rhodius USA acquired the Rhodius-branded business of former exclusive importer Sundisc Abrasives, comprising the customer base, agent network and sales team. The acquisition will allow more effective and extensive distribution and support of Rhodius industrial abrasive products across the United States, systematically expanding group market share. Also, Rhodius USA appointed Mark Linn as vice president, sales and marketing of Sundisc. Linn culminated his 28-year career with Metabo by transferring to Sundisc Abrasives in mid-2015, where he expanded the original sales team of four to 43.